


A second chance at life

by Cassie_27



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26738275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassie_27/pseuds/Cassie_27
Summary: Harry keeps a massive secret from his two best friends; his relatives abuse and neglect Harry, and have all his life. But when his bates friends go away for the summer, can Harry's fate change? What if someone comes into his life that changes everything, including some friendships.---------------I'm bad at descriptions! read to find out more
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This my first time writing fanfiction, so any tips are welcome! enjoy the story x

Prologue

\---------------------

July 16th, 1993. It was one of those rare days in Britain where the weather was beautiful, not a cloud could be seen in the sky. Had 12-year-old Harry Potter not been stuck in his last class of the school year, also his least favourite class, he might have been enjoying it instead of complaining to his best mate Ron about how sweaty he was. He hated chemistry with a burning passion, but that could be because Mr Snape was pure evil. Well that and Draco Malfoy sat behind him in chemistry, and Malfoy isn’t much better than Snape.  


As much as Harry should be looking forward to the fact that he’s officially 15 minutes away from a 6-week holiday away from school, he isn’t in he slightest. That’s because 6 weeks of no school, meant 6 weeks of his aunt, uncle and cousin 24/7. Harry lived with his aunt and uncle because his parents died tragically when he was only one years old, and they hated him. Really hated him. Hated him in the way that he lived in a cupboard under the stairs until he was 11 type of hatred. Not that Ron, nor Hermione, knew anything about that story. But things could be worst. At least he doesn’t have to go to school with his cousin Dudley. Harry goes to Hogwarts Academy, down the road from Dudley’s school. It’s a prestigious school, hard to get into, and the only reason harry got in on a scholarship was because his parents went here when they were his age. Potter family tradition apparently. Hogwarts Academy was practically his home; he wished it was his home and he didn’t have to go home to the Dursley’s every night, weekend, and holiday.

Deep in thought, he didn’t even realise snape was staring at him with his usual sneer until Ron elbowed him in his side. “Not paying attention again, Mr Potter. Shame I cannot give you detention on the last day of class. 10 points from Gryffindor”. As if anyone was still paying attention at this point, not that Snape cared. Snape loving to pick on him in class. Harry through glare behind him when he heard Malfoy sniggering away. “Sorry Sir” Harry replied. Best not to start an argument this close to the end of the year

When the class finally finished, he was relived for it to be over. Longest Chemistry lesson yet. Harry and Ron grabbed their bags, looked to the other side of the classroom to see if Hermione was following, and the trio walked down the halls to the main entrance/exit together. “Well, another year over. As much as I’m excited to send 6 weeks in the south of France, I’m actually going to miss it” Hermione spoke walking in the middle of both boys.

“You’re the only person on the planet that would rather be at school over the summer holidays rather than being laid on a beach in France” Ron chuckled back at her. And the laughing and joking went back and forth between the 3 of them while they walked down the street away from the school. This is usually how their walks home went.

They walked until they point where they had to go separate directions to get home, so they said their goodbyes. They told each other to keep in touch, and made sure Harry knew that if he needed them, they were only a phone call away. This was the first summer since the trio met that both Ron and Hermione would be away all summer, with Hermione in France and Ron off to visit his brother in Egypt. As much as Harry tried to keep his home life a secret from them, it was always a little obvious that something wasn’t right, so they always worried about him. This summer Harry wouldn’t be able to sneak away and spend half his days at Ron’s house, being mothered by Mrs Weasley. Harry was invited to come to Egypt with the Weasley’s, he was practically a son to the family at this point, but his Aunt and Uncle wouldn’t allow it. ‘Not wasting good money buying you a passport’ they said, and ‘how many times have I told you to stop spending time with that freakish family’. His aunt didn’t like that the Weasley’s were very un-dursley-ish, and ‘not normal’. Not that ever listened to her on that point. Ron was is best mate and she wasn’t going to change that.

What Harry didn’t know, as he started slowly walking to 4 privet drive, is that this summer was going to change everything.


	2. The Letter

Chapter 1 - The Letter

The first 2 weeks of the summer had been completely normal for Harry. Aunt Petunia unlocked his bedroom door at 6:30am so he could start to prepare breakfast for the family, he would get leftovers if there were any, and then he would start on his long list of chores for the day. All while trying to avoid making Uncle Vernon mad, because if he did his punishment usually consisted of more than just no food that night. His bruised shoulder and sprained wrist were still sore from his punishment a few days ago when we accidently knocked a vase off the fireplace. And he still remembers the almost broken ankle after he was caught stealing a piece of ham from lunch last week.

This morning, however, something happened that had only happened once before. He was getting the morning post while the others ate, and he spotted a letter with his name on it. It didn’t look official or anything, so it couldn’t have been from Hogwarts. He looked over his shoulder towards the kitchen to make sure no one was looking, folded the letter in half, and shoved it in his jeans pocket. He had learned his lesson from the last time he had received a letter. “Hurry up boy” he heard Uncle Vernon shout from the kitchen, so he hurried back and tried to forget all about the mystery letter that was practically burning a hole in his pocket.

It was 7:30pm when he finally got a chance to have a look. He had finished all his chores for the night, and Aunt Petunia had even given him some stale bread and cheese before locking him back in his room. He was sat on his bed, just staring at the letter. It was almost as if he was scared to open it. When we did finally read the letter, he was shocked. He didn’t even realise that he was crying.

_Dear Harry James Potter,_

_I have been wanting to write this letter to you for a long time and now that I am I’m stuck for words. I’m not sure if you know who I am, or whether anyone has mentioned me before, but my name is Sirius Black. I was best friends with your mum and dad when we were at school, your dad was my brother in all but blood. And I also happen to be your Godfather._

_Right now, you must have a million questions, and you’re probably wondering where I have been all your life if I’m supposed to be your godfather. I promise I will answer any questions you may have. All I ask is to know whether you’re alright, and I would like to get to know you better. I’m sure you have grown up a lot since you were one years old, prongslet. Think about it. If you feel comfortable, and it’s alright with your guardians, give me a call on the number below._

_I look forward to hearing from you._

_01*** ******_

_From, Sirius Black._

He sat there staring in awe for what felt like hours. All his life, all he wated was family who cared about him, someone to tell him about his parents, someone to talk to. In that moment harry didn’t care where Sirius had been all these years, he felt like he wasn’t alone anymore. He felt like he might have some sort of family out there, real family who might care. All he had to do now was figure out how he was going get a hold of a telephone without being caught.

His chance came a couple days later. Uncle Vernon had an important work lunch to attend, Dudley was out with his friends doing god knows what as usual, and he was hoovering the living room when Aunt Petunia had told him that she was popping to the shop. This was a rare opportunity, they hardly ever left him home alone; apparently, he was a ‘no good freak who wasn’t to be trusted’. With Petunia going to the shop, he had around 20 minutes with no one watching him. This was his chance.

As soon as she was out of sight he ran up to his room, grabbed the letter, quickly went downstairs to the telephone in the hallway, and dialled the number. He had done this so quickly he hadn’t even given himself time to think about what he was going to say.

“Hello?” he heard a man answer with a deep sounding voice after a few rings.

“h-hi” harry spoke into the phone with a nervous stutter “Is this Sirius Black?”

“Yeah that’s me, whose asking?” Sirius asked curiously.

“You sent me a letter that said I could call you, erm my name is Harry Potter” Harry spoke quietly, and when Sirius didn’t respond straight away he wondered whether he had spoken a bit too quietly. Or whether the whole thing had been a prank set up by Dudley to embarrass him.

“Harry” Sirius finally respond “I’m happy you got my letter, and that you decided to call me. Errmm, how are you?”

“Yeah I’m alright. Confused maybe. No one has ever told me about you, or that I even had a godfather to be honest” Sirius chuckled lightly at this statement.

“No, I don’t reckon they would have. You live with your Aunt Petunia, don’t you? She hated me just as much as she hated your dad.” Sirius responded. Harry perked up a bit at that statement, he wanted to say that being hated by Aunt Petunia must be a family trait, but he didn’t think that it was an appropriate statement to make to someone he had never met. Plus, he had lived with the Dursley’s long enough to know rule number 1; don’t talk about life at home to anyone. “Listen Harry, you must have lots of questions for me. About your parents, about everything. Feel free to ask anything you want. Maybe we could go for some lunch somewhere soon? I could come pick you up on a day your free and I could explain things to you? Your Aunt and Uncle are welcome to join if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

Sirius spoke with such a soft and kind tone, it made Harry’s stomach bubble with excitement. This was all real, it wasn’t one of Dudley’s stupid pranks after all. He had a godfather who wanted to meet him. “er no, I mean of course I want to come with you. They Dursley’s won’t need to come though. They are usually, um, very busy. I can just meet you somewhere instead, it’ll probably be easier that way” Harry started nervously rambling.

“Nonsense, I’ll pick you up, it’s no problem at all. I should at least say hi to your Aunt and Uncle, let them know that I’ll keep you safe for the afternoon. How does Friday at 12:30pm sound?” Harry didn’t bother to mention that his Aunt and Uncle wouldn’t really care if Sirius didn’t keep him safe. But harry agreed, and they said goodbye. And even thought he was nervous about what his relatives would say when Sirius turned up on their doorstep in 2 days’ time, he was so excited. Not even Uncle Vernon shouting at him for burning tea slightly that night could put a damper on his mood.

2 days. That’s all he had to wait.


	3. First meetings

Chapter 2- First meetings

It had been a long 48 hours. Harry had kept his head down for 2 days, done everything right and managed not to anger his uncle or aunt, he had even managed to stay out of Dudley’s way. This meant no recent bruises, no limping on twisted ankles, and that when he met Sirius Black for the first time he could make a good impression. Maybe, just maybe, Sirius wouldn’t think he was a freak. Because if he found out about what went on at home, the truth of what his relatives thought about him, he might not stay.

He didn’t tell his aunt and uncle about Sirius coming to visit, and it turned out he didn’t have to either. It was a Friday, which meant that Vernon was at work all day and wouldn’t be back until 6pm, Petunia had her weekly coffee afternoon with her friends on Fridays and always left at 11:30am and would be gone a few hours, and Dudley was with his gang staying at a friend’s house for a couple days for Piers Polkiss’s birthday. If he woke up extra early and worked hard to get all his chores done before Sirius arrived, and got home before Petunia got back at around 3pm, they wouldn’t even realise he had gone out.

He set his alarm clock for 6am the night before, got straight up and got on with his daily chores list and managed to finish at 11:55. All that was left was to prep for this evening’s dinner, and he could do that when he got back. He went upstairs, put on the nicest jeans and top that he owed (both bigger than him and faded, but at least they were clean with no holes), made sure his hair looked presentable as he possibly could and that no old bruises were on show, slipped on his shoes, sat on the bottom of the stairs by the door, and waited. He looked at the clock on the wall, it was 12:20, so only 10 minutes to go.

He was so nervous. Screw that, he was terrified. He couldn’t help but wonder if Sirius black would actually show up. I mean, look at him, why would he? If I was him I wouldn’t. But just before he could panic too much, the doorbell rang. He flinched as a heard it. He hesitated for a second, before slowly getting up and opening the door. The man who stood at the other side of the door wasn’t anything like he expected. He was tall, with long black shaggy hair, and was wearing black jeans and plain white shirt with a leather jacket and black biker boots. He looked like one of those tattooed biker guys that aunt petunia crossed the road to get away from while she looked at them with disgust. Harry always thought they looked kind of cool.

Harry didn’t know what to say, still in shock that this was all happening, and that Sirius showed up. “Hey, I’m Sirius, you must be Harry right?” Sirius spoke warily, noticing how nervous harry looked. Sirius felt just as nervous as harry looked, but he was simply better at hiding it. “Of course you are, spitting image of your dad when he was your age. Except the eyes, you have your mum’s eyes”.

Harry just blushed and nodded as Sirius spoke, still unsure what to say. After a couple of seconds he managed to form a sentence, “yeah, hi I’m harry, it’s nice to meet you” he said, getting more confident as he spoke.

“are your Aunt and Uncle home? I should probably have a chat with them before we leave” Sirius enquired, trying to be polite and do all of this the right way. Even though all he waned to do was hug harry and never let go. He hadn’t seen harry since he was a baby, and now his godson is all grown up. Sirius felt like he had missed so much.

“no, I mean they aren’t home. Always busy on Friday’s. But erm, they know I’m going out and said it’s all good.” He lied swiftly, lying was something you got good at when you lived with the Dursley’s.

It was a little awkward at first. I mean It was bound to be, they were strangers whether they were practically family or not. But as they got in Sirius’s car and got talking, the tension and awkwardness eased away. Sirius asked about his life; what school was like and if he had many friends. So harry told him all about Ron and Hermione, and how he loved Hogwarts. And Sirius seemed genuinely interested in everything he was talking about. The drive into town wasn’t long, only about 10 minutes. Sirius parked up and they walked into a café close by were a young waitress sat them down at a two-person table by a big window.

Harry had never been at a café before, his aunt and uncle had never wanted to spend extra money on him, so when Sirius told him to order whatever food and drink he wanted, his treat, harry was overjoyed. He ordered a cheese and ham toastie with chips, and a regular sized coke. After they were done ordering, harry was looked at Sirius with a mixture of nervous curiosity and awe on his face. When Sirius noticed this, he spoke up. “So I know there must be some questions that you want to ask me, and that’s okay. You can ask me anything”. Harry hesitated before asking the most important question, and the most expected one too; if Sirius was Harrys godfather, where had he been all of Harrys life. And Sirius answered honestly, he told harry how he had been falsely accused of murder and had spent the past twelve years in prison. And when he finally got a retrial after new evidence came to light, he was proven innocent. That was 2 months ago, and as soon as he was released and got himself back on his feet, he wasted no time finding out where harry was and getting in contact.

They spoke for what felt like hours. Sirius answered every question patiently and told story after story about his school days with Lily and James, and a friend called Remus which they were also best friends with. He told harry about their silly nicknames for each other; Moony, padfoot and prongs. He told harry how as a baby he called Sirius Uncle Pa’foo , as baby harry couldn’t quite pronounce Padfoot properly, and how they all nicknamed harry Prongslet.

Harry had had the best afternoon he had ever had in his entire life. It was so good that had completely lost track of time, and when he checked the time while later when they decided to leave it was 3:30. Shit, he was late. He was definitely going to be in trouble, and Sirius was going to meet his Aunt. This was it. Petunia would tell Sirius what a freak he really was, and then his godfather would leave forever. And Uncle Vernon would give him the worst beating of his life for lying to them. “You okay bud?” Sirius asked when they hopped into the care, aware of his godson’s sudden quietness and the obvious nervous look on his face. “Yeah, all good” he replied. Sirius was very aware that harry was lying but didn’t say anything and continued to drive Harry home.

When they arrived back at 4 Privet drive, they both got out of the car and Sirius walked him to the front door, despite Harry’s protests. But before they got there, the front door swung open to revile a an incredibly angry looking petunia. Harry didn’t know this, but Sirius had known petunia for a long time. He had met her after Lily and James started going out the summer of sixth year. She was always a horrible woman and was always horrible to Lily. And the fat oaf of a man she married; Sirius had met him once too. Vernon didn’t leave a good impression on him back then, and he was sure they probably hadn’t changed. When Sirius originally found out that this was where harry had been growing up, he was angry. Lily and James wouldn’t have wanted him to be here. He was also worried, for Harry sake, and hoped Petunia treated Harry better than she had Lily.

Sirius spoke up before anyone else had a chance to say anything. “Hey Petunia, long time no see. You remember me right? Sirius black, James best friend and Harry’s godfather. Nice to see you again”. Petunia looked at him both shocked and furious. Harry, however, just looked scared for what was going to happen next.


End file.
